1.0 Important Reasons to Update to ZENworks 11.2.3

ZENworks Configuration Management

ZENworks 11.2.3 now provides a cumulative Agent update. You can update managed devices from 10.3.x and later to 11.2.3 with a single reboot.

The Replicated Content Search feature allows you to search for bundles or policies that are assigned for replication on provided content Satellite Servers or Primary Servers.

The Location-Based Proxy/CIFS Server feature allows you to set a location-based proxy and CIFS server for Windows, Linux, or Mac managed devices from ZENworks Control Center.

The Satellite-Satellite Content Replication feature reduces the potential traffic between the Primary Server and the Satellite Servers by allowing a content Satellite Server to replicate the content from other content Satellite Servers.

The Satellite Server Output Throttle Rate feature allows you to specify the rate at which the Satellite Server should send content to other devices requesting the content. These devices could be either other content Satellite Servers or managed devices.

The Replicate Now feature allows you to immediately replicate the content of a bundle or policy to a Primary Server, without waiting for the scheduled content replication.

The Cleanup Now feature allows you to immediately clean up the content of a bundle or policy from a Primary Server immediately, without waiting for the scheduled content cleanup.

Firefox 16, 17, 17.0.2 ESR, and 18 are now supported for ZENworks Control Center and the Novell File Upload plug-ins.

The System Update framework has been enhanced in ZENworks 11.2.3 to support the System Update from the Novell Customer Center (NCC) server. This functionality is not available for versions 11.2.1 to 11.2.3. This new feature enables users to perform a system update from ZENworks 11.2.3 to 11.2.4 by using the NCC server.

The Location Awareness Lite feature enables you to use location awareness on devices without installing the ZENworks kernel drivers on the devices. Location Awareness Lite uses information from the operating system rather than the drivers to determine location. The drivers are still used for full Location Awareness mode.

ZENworks Patch Management

Patch Management provides support for several important new operating system platforms including Windows 8, Windows 2012, and Mac OSX 10.8.

The patch feed now includes a wide variety of additional non-security patches from Microsoft that can only be detected with the latest agent technology. As always, ZCM Patch Management customers are encouraged to upgrade both servers and endpoints to the latest version.

Patch Management Scanning has been improved to incorporate Vega technology. This enables support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

2.0 Planning to Deploy ZENworks 11.2.3

Use the following guidelines to plan for the deployment of ZENworks 11.2.3 in your Management Zone:

You must deploy ZENworks 11.2.3 first to the Primary Servers, subsequently to Satellites, and finally to managed devices. Do not deploy this update to managed devices and Satellites until all the Primary Servers have been upgraded to 11.2.3.

You can directly deploy ZENworks 11.2.3 to managed devices in the Zone only if the managed devices have been upgraded to ZENworks 10.3.0 or a later version.

The system reboots once after you upgrade to ZENworks 11.2.3. However, if the Client Self Defense option is configured on the managed device, the system requires two reboots during the upgrade process.

IMPORTANT:: All Primary Servers or Satellites running previously supported versions prior to 11.2.0 should first be upgraded to ZENworks 11.2.0 before deploying the ZENworks 11.2.3 update.

Before upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8, the User Management component for the device should be set to the Uninstalled state. After upgrading to Windows 8, the User Management component should be set to the Installed and Enabled state.

NOTE:Skipping this step causes Windows to crash at the login screen so the user cannot log in to Windows 8.

4.4.1 Replicated Content Search

This feature allows you to search for bundles or policies that are assigned for replication on provided content Satellite Servers or Primary Servers. In addition, it allows you to search for Satellite or Primary Servers that replicate a provided bundle or policy.

4.4.2 Location-Based Proxy/CIFS Server

This feature allows you to set a location-based proxy for Windows, Linux, or Mac managed devices from ZENworks Control Center. This selection can be done at the network environment level, locations level, and also at the default zone, folder, or device levels. In addition, it allows you to set the CIFS Server share for downloading content from ZENworks Primary Servers and Satellite Servers.

4.4.3 Content Replication Method

This feature reduces the potential traffic between the Primary Server and the Satellite Server. A Satellite, performing the Content role, replicates the content from other content servers through one of the following methods:

Using the Parent Primary Server Only

Using the Closest Content Servers First

Using the Closest Content Servers Only

4.4.4 Satellite Server Output Throttle Rate

This feature displays the rate at which the Satellite Server should send the content to other Satellite Servers. The Satellite Server calculates different throttle rates based on the content request type and the content type throttle.

4.4.5 Replicate Now

This feature immediately replicates the selected content on the current Primary Server or selected Primary Servers regardless of the configured replication schedule.

4.4.6 Cleanup Now

This feature enables you to cleanup the selected content from the current Primary Server or selected Primary Servers immediately, regardless of the cleanup schedule.

4.4.7 Location Awareness

You can now choose the Location Awareness mode that the ZENworks Adaptive Agent uses to determine the location applied to a device. There are two Location Awareness modes:

Location Awareness Lite:
The agent uses network information provided by the operating system. The ZENworks drivers are not installed.

Location Awareness:
The agent installs ZENworks drivers to collect network information. The drivers provide more detailed information than the operating system, which enables the agent to make a more accurate determination of the location.

If ZENworks Endpoint Security Management is active in your zone (either licensed or in evaluation mode), the Location Awareness Lite mode is not enforced on devices on which the Endpoint Security Management Agent Feature is enabled. Endpoint Security Management requires the ZENworks drivers to be installed, so the ZENworks Adaptive Agent on Endpoint Security-enabled devices uses full Location Awareness mode even if the mode is set to Location Awareness Lite. For Location Awareness Lite to be enforced on a device, Endpoint Security Management must be disabled by one of the following methods: 1) not licensed in the zone, 2) not installed on the device, or 3) installed but disabled on the device.

7.1 Location Awareness Lite is not enabled on existing devices

Prior to 11.2.3, the Endpoint Security drivers were installed with the ZENworks Adaptive Agent even if ZENworks Endpoint Security Management was not licensed in the zone or configured for installation to devices. The drivers were installed to support the agent’s location awareness functionality.

Starting with 11.2.3, the drivers are installed on new devices only if 1) full Location Awareness is being used, 2) agent Self Defense is enabled, or 3) ZENworks Endpoint Security Management is installed.

During the update to 11.2.3, if a device does not meet one of these three conditions, the Endpoint Security drivers are removed. Some of the drivers are removed after the first device reboot and the others are removed after the second. Until the second reboot occurs, the device does not use Location Awareness Lite mode.

7.2 The Roaming Profile policy does not work on a Window 8 device

The Roaming Profile policy does not work on a Windows 8 device.

Workaround: None

7.3 The Startup location is not effective on Windows 8 devices after Fast Boot

When a Windows 8 machine is shut down, Fast Boot is triggered by default. As a result, the ZENworks Agent does not boot into the configured startup location and comes up with Closest Server Rules of the last known location, which might not be reachable.

Workaround: Perform a full shut down on the device by running the shutdown /s /f /t 000 command. The ZENworks Agent boots into the configured startup location when it restarts.

7.4 Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 is not supported on devices that use Data Encryption or Disk Encryption policies

Upgrading a Windows 7 device to Windows 8 is not supported if the device has a ZENworks Endpoint Security Management Data Encryption policy or ZENworks Full Disk Encryption policy applied. The upgrade can place the device into an unknown state.

Workaround: Before upgrading the device to Windows 8, remove the Data Encryption and Disk Encryption policies from the device. Ensure that you give the device sufficient time to decrypt all encrypted files and volumes.

7.5 Seamless login is not supported on Windows XP devices in a VMware VDI environment

Seamless login is supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8 but not on Windows XP managed devices in a VMware VDI environment.

Workaround: None

7.6 Patch Management Scanning requires more scan time

The improved Patch Management Scanning feature requires an additional 10 to 15 MB of content, and the scan time is increased by 2 to 5 minutes. This impacts all Windows versions, except Windows XP.

Workaround: None

7.7 System update progress is not visible on a Windows 8 device

When you perform a system update on a Windows 8 device, the system update progress is not displayed as a notification in the Start screen.

Workaround: None

7.8 System update status is incorrectly displayed as successful

The system update status is displayed as successful even though the MSI fails to install on the agent devices, with the following error:

Line 864: ERROR;MSI_INSTALL_ERROR;novell-zenworks-fde-api-11.2.3.337.msi,1603;
Line 2352: DEBUG;;;ZESM component state : FDE component state : enabled
Line 2353: DEBUG;;;Install drivers state after reading ZESM/FDE component
state : INSTALLDRIVERS=1

Workaround: None

7.9 System update fails on a Windows 7 agent

A system update fails on a Windows 7 agent when both Full Disk Encryption (FDE) and ZENworks Endpoint Security Management (ZESM) are uninstalled from the server, and an agent update is initialized from 11.2.x to 11.2.3.

Workaround: None

7.10 System update fails on a Windows 2003 agent

A system update on a Windows 2003 agent, with default settings, fails when an agent update is initialized from 10.3.4 to 11.2.3.

Workaround: Assign the MS Hot Patch before assigning the system update to the Windows 2003 managed devices.

7.11 Satellite device with a startup location defined does not replicate content after it is upgraded to ZENworks 11.2.3

A Satellite device has a startup location defined that does not have any Closest Server Rule. At the end of the startup period, the Satellite does not use the correct calculated location, and cannot replicate content.

Workaround: Configure the Satellite device to not use a startup location, and refresh or restart the device.

8.0 Legal Notices

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